Angel Hair with pesto, beet greens, and bacon

Spring is here, and in New Hampshire, we'll start seeing beet greens for sale again as they are one of the first local greens available. They're so much more tender in the spring and one of my favorite greens. Later on in the season, beet green can be bitter, so they're best cooked in bacon fat. Feel free to substitute them for Dandelion Greens to send extra love to your gut.

I used North Country Smokehouse's Applewood Smoked ends-and-bits for this recipe. The ends and bits usually include a lot more fat and thicker slices. Vegetaball's pesto rounds out the flavors with her basil offering it's bright fresh flavor, and her garlic taking off the spring chill. Pair with Malbec and olives or a beer or seltzer of your choice.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. of angel hair pasta

2 ounces sundried tomatoes in oil

1 bunch beet greens

Salt to taste

1/4 -1/2 lb. bacon

4 ounces Vegetaball’s Pesto

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Boil salted water for your pasta, cook according to package instructions. Drain. Toss with oil from the sundried tomatoes and Vegetaball’s pesto in a large bowl.

Warm up a cast iron skillet on medium for your bacon. Slice the bacon into bacon bites. Cut the beet greens to a similar size. Cook bacon till half done, add beet greens and salt to taste till beet greens are wilted and bacon cooked through. Remove from heat.

Julienne your sundried tomatoes. Combine tomatoes, beet greens, and bacon with pasta and serve.

Serves 4